Latest news with #GraniteSchoolDistrict
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Opinion: What the school enrollment shift tells us about education in America
Yes, Utah is having fewer babies, down 26% over the past decade. As a former public school principal, though, I can assure you declining birth rates don't fully explain shrinking classrooms. Families aren't just having fewer kids — they're actively choosing different ways to educate them. COVID didn't start this shift. It accelerated it. Parents finally saw classrooms up close, and many didn't like the view. Yet, school districts often respond by doing nothing, watching enrollment decline until closures become inevitable. Granite School District recently announced plans to close more schools due to falling numbers. Last year, the Salt Lake School District shut down four elementary schools. And the year before that, Alpine School District faced similar closures. Where are these students going? To alternatives. Charter schools, private schools, microschools and homeschool pods are drawing families in with flexibility, personalization and often smaller environments. Homeschooling doubled in the US between 2020 and 2023. Charter schools have grown by more than 1.6 million students since 2000. Microschools are surging as well. A 2024 survey found that 37% of parents are more interested in microschools or hybrid options than they were before the pandemic. When I was a principal, one of my first graders excelled in math but lagged in reading. His father, Alex, grew frustrated with a rigid system unable to nurture his son's unique abilities. After I left public education, Alex did too. He founded Wilderland Academy, a nature-based microschool in Eden, Utah. His story isn't unusual. Across the country, parents and teachers are launching new schools rather than waiting for traditional ones to change. Stories like Alex's are multiplying. Parents and teachers aren't waiting for permission. They're creating what kids need. And it's not just about new schools. Lawmakers invested in Davis School District's Catalyst Center. The Catalyst program brings in local business and industry leaders to work with the students. It provides real-world experience in industries ranging from aviation and computer science to business, construction and digital media (YouTube). These are the kinds of public school innovations that deserve to grow. Just as a healthy forest has a variety of trees, a healthy education system has a variety of options. Policymakers should take note and find ways to continue their support of all options. To achieve this, Utah should expand the Utah Fits All scholarship so that every student who applies receives support — no lottery, no waitlist. At the same time, lawmakers should continue cutting red tape. They've made progress by allowing microschools in all zones and easing building rules. But they can continue to find these restrictions and remove them for education entrepreneurs. At the same time, they should make it easier to launch charter schools and expand innovative programs like Catalyst. The changing nature of education isn't a crisis; it's a wake-up call. As a former principal now working alongside microschool founders, I can tell you exactly what parents want: education that's more human, more personal and responsive to their kids' needs. If traditional schools refuse to adapt, Utah families will find education elsewhere.
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Taylorsville special education teacher named Educator of the Year by Discovery Education Awards
TAYLORSVILLE, Utah () — A teacher at Hartvigsen School has been named Educator of the Year by the Discovery Education Awards. Seyyed Sharifi is a special education teacher at Hartvigsen School in Taylorsville. He teaches post-high school students, aged 18 – 22, and educates them on life skills. He has previously been named Granite School District's 2024 Teacher of the Year. In a press release from Granite School District, they share some of the qualities that went into Sharifi being honored as Educator of the Year. 'Seyyed prioritizes trust and connection to ensure every student feels safe, valued, and inspired to learn. Recognizing that traditional instruction methods don't always meet the needs of students with diverse abilities, he brings creativity and technology into the classroom,' Granite School District shared in the release. Volunteers to assemble period kits for Utah students ahead of summer break Discovery Education Awards selects five teachers across the nation to be honored as their Educator of the Year. There are also awards for the District of the Year and School of the Year. Sharifi was honored this afternoon at the school. In an interview with ABC4, he shared his feelings about being the recipient of the award. He reflected on how winning this award was meaningful not only to him but to his family. 'For me, it's about my family's legacy. Both my mother and my father were teachers in Kabul, Afghanistan, and when they came here, they had to leave the profession behind,' Sharifi stated. 'It was a way to kind of heal that family lineage… It's kind of a sacred act to me, to teach.' Sharifi says his teaching method is focused on independence. He works with virtual reality equipment and hands-on projects to help educate his students on life skills. 'I try to cultivate independence — that's really the heartbeat of our classroom,' Sharifi said. 'What got me here is that, is just really empowering the students to live their lives to the fullest.' What are the different safety protocols in Utah schools? The Educator of the Year wasn't always an educator, though. Sharifi shared that his career began somewhere different, but he found his way to special education. 'I did sales for a long time, I made a lot of money doing that, but I wasn't able to sleep at night,' Sharifi said. 'This job has allowed me to provide for my family… for me, it's a noble way to earn a living.' For those considering a career like Sharifi's, he encourages whoever is interested to join him. 'We need more special educators. If you are thinking about special ed, come. It's a rewarding career. The kids are lovely,' Sharifi stated. Current Shepard Lane overpass on I-15 to close permanently for new interchange bridge McMahon says Harvard is no longer eligible for new federal research grants Taylorsville special education teacher named Educator of the Year by Discovery Education Awards 'Connection and belonging': South Salt Lake Mural Fest returning this weekend He missed the flight that killed 138 Now he's giving back in Vietnam Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Granite School District ‘flooded' with threatening phone calls after DOGE post
SOUTH SALT LAKE, Utah (ABC4) — Granite School District offices have been flooded with threatening phone calls, emails, and social media posts after being accused of misusing funds by Elon Musk's 'Department of Government of Efficiency.' In made on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Feb. 19, 'DOGE' mentioned how school districts across the country allegedly misused COVID-relief funds for various purposes apart from education. One cost mentioned was $86k used for hotel rooms at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, attributed to GSD in a listed source by DOGE. Since then, the district has said they have been 'flooded' with messages of explicit nature, and threats of violence towards their staff. PREVIOUS: Granite School District responds to DOGE allegations of misuse of COVID-relief funds 'Our district offices were flooded with dozens of angry phone calls, emails, and social media posts. Mostly from out of state. Many of these calls and emails contained explicit language and threats of violence against our staff,' A GSD's statement read. The district disputed the claim made by DOGE within their statement, saying that the expense itself was 'cherry picked' for scrutiny, and was a part of 90 other purchase orders that funding was used for. 'While difficult to articulate an exact cost, hyperbolic stories shared in the media and social media posts that lack context directly contribute to an erosion of trust in public education.' The statement continued. 'Granite School District is not, and has never been, under any investigation for the use of these funds. The accusation from the DOGE is completely false, and their social media post is intentionally misleading.' GSD has released other statements refuting claims made by DOGE made about the hotel expenses in Las Vegas. According to GSD, the funds mentioned were used to house 123 educators who attended an education convention in 2022. According to GSD, they request approval to use the money for this convention, and that they 'conducted a comprehensive needs assessment,' before submitting their plan to the Utah State Board of Education. 'While the host hotel had some resort functions, our participants had standard rooms at the government rate. The average hotel cost for each participant was $220 per night,' GSD said in a statement. 'To be clear, there is no investigation into the use of these funds, which were approved by the Utah State Board of Education in full compliance with all applicable state and federal guidelines. Granite School District has NOT been contacted or questioned by any state or federal regulatory agency about the use of these funds.' At this time, the district has reported that all threats made have been found to be non-credible by the Granite Police Department. has made an attempt to reach out DOGE for comment, we have not yet heard back. This is a developing story. ABC4 will update this post as new information becomes available. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
22-02-2025
- Yahoo
Woman found dead after Logan house fire
LOGAN, Utah (ABC4) — A woman was found dead after a fire at a Logan home Saturday morning, according to Logan Police. At around 7:45 a.m. on Feb. 22, police responded to a report of a structure fire at a residence near 900 West 1000 South in Logan. Granite School District responds to DOGE allegations of misuse of COVID-relief funds Police confirmed that they found a woman deceased inside the home. The cause and origin of the fire have not been determined at this time. 'Further details are not being released pending notification of family,' a press release from Logan Police states. 'Victim Advocates and the Cache County Attorney's Office are on scene to help those affected by this tragic incident.' The public is asked to avoid the area at this time. No further information is currently available. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
22-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Granite School District responds to DOGE allegations of misuse of COVID-relief funds
SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — The Granite School District has responded to allegations of the misuse of COVID-relief funds — specifically, spending $86,000 on hotel rooms at Las Vegas' Caesars Palace during an educational conference. The allegations are part of an Elon Musk-led initiative to reduce government spending. Under Musk, the Dept. of Government Efficiency (DOGE) alleges that there were a number of cases of misuse, in which schools 'spent nearly $200B of COVID-Relief funds with little oversight or impact on students,' DOGE posted on X. '$393K to rent out a Major League Baseball stadium, $86K in Caesars Palace hotel rooms, $60k in swimming pool passes, and even an ice cream truck. All of this money was drawn with zero documentation,' the post reads. Utah CEO killed in east Idaho helicopter crash DOGE said shortly after that the U.S. Dept. of Education will require all grantees to provide receipts of their purchases prior to receiving funding for those purchases. This means any and all expenditures must be paid by the states in advance and then submitted to the Dept. of Education for reimbursement. The Granite School District responded to the allegations in a statement released Friday afternoon, refuting any impropriety on behalf of its educators. District officials said the funding was used to participate in an educational conference held in Las Vegas. The funding in question was used to pay for hotel rooms for 123 educators from our district to attend a three-day professional educational convention hosted by Solution Tree in Las Vegas in 2022. Solution Tree is a highly reputable organization that provides effective professional development for educators from across the nation. In advance of getting approval for use of these funds in this way, the district conducted a comprehensive needs assessment and submitted our plan which was accepted by Utah State Board of Education (USBE). Our plan outlined that we would spend these funds on professional learning. While the host hotel had some resort functions, our participants had standard rooms at the government rate. The average hotel cost for each participant was $220 per night. At the time, the closest available conference location was in Las Vegas, which was also the most cost-effective option being only several hours from Salt Lake City. Other locations offered at that time were much further away and would have resulted in more costs for participation. To replicate the quantity and quality of speakers and resources provided at the conference in-house would be significantly more expensive than sending our educators to this nearby conference. This was a successful and beneficial conference for our educators. Due to positive feedback from attendees and continued high interest, we were able to convince Solution Tree to bring the conference to Salt Lake City in the summer of 2024, allowing more local school districts to participate and providing even more teachers access to this valuable instructional training. Prior to today, we have not been contacted by any members of the media with respect to this expenditure and refute that the district has not been transparent with our budgets and expenditures. The Fox News national story contains many factual errors and no one from their organization has ever contacted us to verify the facts of the report. To be clear, there is no investigation into the use of these funds, which were approved by the Utah State Board of Education in full compliance with all applicable state and federal guidelines. Granite School District has NOT been contacted or questioned by any state or federal regulatory agency about the use of these funds. We first heard of this concern on social media. As such, we were surprised to be accused of fraud without having some contact from anyone to verify the legitimacy of the expense. We have and continue to be committed to providing high-quality professional development for our educators, and we're confident that opportunities like the Solution Tree conference lead to better outcomes for Granite students. The public school district represents areas across central Salt Lake County, including West Valley City, Millcreek, Taylorsville, South Salt Lake, Holladay, Kearns, and Magna, as well as parts of West Jordan, Murray and Cottonwood Heights. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
